Life-saving apparatus for submarines.



M. RBYNGOUDT. LIFE SAVING APPARATUS FOB. SUBMARINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.. 7, 1912.

Patented Aug. 20, 1912.

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@el WHMHMJ l WM l/AWM @vit/m c me e MARINUS ENGoUD'r, oFHhsBItoiJcK HEIGHTS, NEW JERSEY.

LIFE-SAVING fon. SUBMARINES.

Specicatioir ufiLettvers Patent.

Patented Aug. 2o, 1912.

Application illed March 7, 1912. Serial-N0. 682,178.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, MARINUS RENooUDT, a subject of the Dutch Monarchy, and a resident of Hasbrouck Heights, Bergen county, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Saving Apparatus for Submarines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in vlife saving apparatus for submarines and the object of the invention is to ,provide easily operated means whereby the crew of a submarine may quickly leave the same and escape in time of danger.

To this end the invention is embodied in an apparatus in the form of a life saving boat adapted to be secured within the hull of av submarine in such a manner that it can b'e reached quickly by the crew and operated from the inside to detach it from the sub-v marine.

The invention will be more fully understood from the following specification while reference is had to the accompanying drawing in whieh Figure 1 is aplan View of a. submarine equipped with my life saving boat. Fig, 2 1s a vertical sectional view of the life boat taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3, and Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the boat. taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Submarines are usually provided with one or more safety chambers in which the crew may nd refuge in time of accidents. Preferably I propose to utilize one or more .of these chambers to form a cradle or support for ymy life boat so as to avoid the construction ofa special space-for the boat. l

Referring to Fig. 1 the nume-m14 repreNv sents a submarine and 5 is the life boat of which there may be more than one located in any suitable position but preferably in or near the upper portion of the submarine to facilitate the escape of the boat.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3 the numeral 6 denotes the shell of the submarine which is provided with an opening 7 through which the life boat is let 1nto the submarine and through which opening the boat leaves the latter. Within the submarine there is formed a boat chamber 8 inside a cradle 9. This boat chamber maybe one of the aforesaid safety chambers or it may be a specially provided space in the submarme. The cradle 5 comprises the shell 9 and the supporting ribs and is provided with a groove 11 for the reception of the keel of the boat l2 is an anteroom leading from the interior of the submarine and into the boat chamber 8. A door 13 is operable from the inside of the room 12 to close the latter.

The life boat 5 is made in any suitable form and the detailed construction thereof is not material to this invention. It comprises a shell 14 and is provided with an overhanging flange 15 adapted to rest upon a ledge formed inside a guiding flange 16 of the submarine. A gasket 17 is lnterposed between the flange 15 and the submarine to close the opening 7 watertight. In the top of the boat I provide port holes 18 which are closed by glass covers 19 in the usual manner. The one end of the boat is rovided with a manhole 2() which is closed y a cover 21 operated from the inside of the boat. In order to sec-ure the boat to the submarine I provide means operable from the inside of the boat. In this instance and as a matter of illustration only I provide bolts 22 which are in threaded engagement with bosses`23 on the cradle 9. Suitable bearings 24 are provided for the bolts. Other bolts 25, 25 are threaded into the shell 14 of the boat and each bolt is provided with a head 26 which bears against the shell of the cradle 9. l

27 is a pipe which leads from the outside of the submarine in any convenient manner so as toconduct water into the boat chamber 8.

28 is a valve in .the pipe 27 and it has a valve stem in engagement with the lower en'd of-a bolt 29 which is threaded into a boss 30'similar to the bosses 23. The valve 28 is hung in the pipe 27 from a cross piece '.31 by the springs 32 which tend to open the valve. The latter is closed by screwing the bolt- 29 down until the valve is seated.

33 is an air pipe to permit the escape of the air-within the boat chamber by opening the valve 34.

35 is an air vent in the life boat. 36 is the keel of the latter which enters the aforementioned groove 11.

37, 37 are side bosses to aid in properly centering the boat and space the same within the boat chamber.

It will be observed that there is a space all around the life boat within the boat chamber. This space is unobstructed except for the bosses and bolts mentioned.

When the crew wishes to escape, the men rst enter the room 12 and close the door 13 behind them, thus preventing Water .from entering the room, the usual danger in submarine work being the danger of drowning of the crew. The door 13 serves, however, also another purpose, namely that of cutting off communication between the interior of the submarine and the boat chamber and whereby the latter is enlarged so to speak. The man hole 20 is of course open and the crew can then enter the life boat and close the man hole behind them by the cover 21. Next the men set to Work to unscrew the bolts 22 to free them from the cradle 9. but they do not entirely withdraw these bolts as that would leave uncovered openings in the bottom of the life boat as will be understood. At the same time the valve 28 is opened by loosening the bolt 29 andwater now passes into the boat chamber and fills the latter to float the life boat so that the boat can ascend in the water to the surface thereof, where the men will open the portholes and escape. The air in the boat chamber escapes before the water by opening the valve 34 and to further assist in the floating of the life boat the bolts 25 are operated outwardly to cause the4 heads 26 to press against the cradle 9. It will thus be seen that I have provided very simple and easily operated means to enable the crew to escape. The water commences to lill the boat chamber and will overfiow into the room 12 from which it cannot escape because of the door 13, thus the volume of water within the boat chamber is increased and the boat is quickly freed from the submarine.

Changes in the detailed construction shown and described may of course be made, and I claim all such changes as properly come within the principle of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

1. The combination with a submarine having an opening in its shell, of a cradle beneath said opening forming a boat chamber, a life boat adapted to be cont-ained within said chamber and to close the said opening, said chamber having an anteroom formed at its one end and normally in communication with the interior of the submarine, means for cutting off communication between the interior of the submarine and the said anteroom and bet-Ween the latter and the interior of the said boat, means for supplying water to the anteroom and the boat chamber to ioat the boat and means for establishing communication between the boat chamber and the outside of the submarine to permit the air in the boat chamber to escape.

2. The combination with a submarine, of a cradle in the same forming a boat chamber, a life boat adapted to be contained Within the said chamber and whereby a space is formed beneath and to the sides of the boat inside the cradle, said chamber having an anteroom formed at its one end and normally in communication with the interior of the submarine, means for cutting off communication between the interior ofthe submarine and said anteroom and between the anteroom and the interior of the said life boat, bolts carried by the boat for securing the same to the said cradle, other bolts carried by the boat and adapted to be Voperated to exert a pressure against the cradle to help freeing the boat therefrom, all of the said bolts being operable from the inside of the said boat, a pipe for supplying water to the said anteroom and space formed around the boat to floatthe same, a valve in said pipe and means for operating said valve from the inside of the boat. 3. The combination with a submarine, of a cradle in the same forming a boat chamber, a life boat adapted to be contained within said chamber whereby a space is formed beneath and around said boat inside said cradle, means for securing the boat tothe submarine, a water pipe located in the bottom of said cradle and communicating with the space aforesaid for supplying water thereto, a valve in said pipe, a bolt for closing said valve, springs for aut/omatically opening the valve when said bolt is withdrawn to admit water to the said space and a pipe carried by the said boat and communicating with the said space at t-he top thereof to permit the air in the latter to escape before the water admitted by the aforesaid pipe.

Signed at New York, N. Y. this 4th day of March 1912.

y MARINUS REYNGOUDT. Witnesses EDW. PosHNA, JOHN RIRGELBERG. 

